The Effect You Have On Me
by KawaiiDino
Summary: Arthur finds himself wandering the lobby of a hotel, thinking about Ariadne. Set directly after the movie. Short one-shot AxA


Arthur found himself wondering through the brightly lit hotel lobby, his shoes making a soft click clack noise on the marble floors. When he had woken up on the plane the feeling started to set in, the anticipation for the loneliness that lurked barely an hour away. A kiss. That was all that it had been, just a kiss to see if he could distract his Mark's subconscious. But it had the effect of a lifetime on him; here he was feeling like he was missing a piece of himself because of something that happened in a dream far away from his reality.

There wasn't much that he could do in the hotel. He had been pacing his room, his floor and now the lobby for over an hour now and he felt as restless, if not more, as when he had begun his pacing. There was no escaping the honest truth anymore, he had no dreams he could fall into and just be himself for a couple of seconds. No breathing space anywhere anymore. Just her face in his mind's eye and her scent lingering on his shirt from when she had parted with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

As time went on he became acutely aware of how odd it must seem for a young man wearing a dark blue tailored suit to be wondering around a hotel by himself at 6 am. There was no excuse he could come up with other than he just couldn't bear to be by himself.

There seemed to be a couple around every corner, on every floor, in every goddamn chair that didn't have a business man sitting in it reading a paper. Was he like the business men? Destined to sit in a hotel armchair, looking smart? It wouldn't do, not for Arthur.

He stopped walking, finding himself in the very centre of the white room, facing the reception desk, back to the revolving doors with their smiling doormen in immaculate red and gold jackets and caps; the ceiling supporting a gargantuan crystal chandelier that sent slithers of light all over the room. There were a few potted plants placed strategically around the area, making it easy for people to admire them. They weren't that special though so the clever placing was lost on the clientele.

The receptionist, a cute blond with a radiant smile, looked up as he circled the lobby once more. He stuffed his hands in his pockets to stop himself from running them through his hair in frustration, exasperation, just to stop himself from feeling the full weight of the situation. No man could handle this; no one was strong enough to go through life alone. But he had to; Ariadne was out of his life, she had left after claiming her luggage and watching Cobb walk through immigration to find Miles waiting. It had been an amazing moment, the whole airport seemed less tense as Dom realised that he was free, that Mal would not haunt his every step, every thought, every waking second.

But Arthur didn't have anything to fall back on. The little hope that he had felt inside of him when Ariadne first experience being killed in a dream had soon faded into nothingness in the pit of his stomach. It was a stupid, childish hope that she would want a solid relationship after what she had been through with Fischer's mind.

_Arthur_

He had stopped in front of the elevators, he couldn't remember how he got there and briefly felt fear fill him up as he reached for the loaded dice he kept in his trouser pocket wherever he went.

_Arthur_

He was sure that he was hearing things, his name being whispered over and over aga-

_Arthur Arthur Arthur _

-in ...

**Ariadne.**

"Arthur!" He snapped his head to the side to see her standing there, suitcase in hand, scarf in her other hand. He didn't think just stepped forward and took her up in his arms. She stood stunned, stock still until he realised and let go quickly, as if burned.

Ariadne wasn't too surprised by his behaviour, just caught off guard. She had followed him to the hotel, only after making sure Cobb was alright and that Eames didn't cause trouble on the short walk from the airport to the taxi ranks. When she had walked through the front doors the gaping room felt monstrous with its towering white marble arches and gleaming marble floors. Even the people looked like marble statues dressed up in suits and uniforms.

She had spotted him loitering around the elevators, around the back of the cavernous shell-like space. He looked out of it, like he wasn't really in the room, but not really anywhere else either. So she headed towards him, the receptionist tried to stop her, to ask her what her business was at the hotel. Too bad the girl behind the counter was dealing with Ariadne, the kick ass architect that had just defeated Limbo; too bad indeed.

He was staring vacantly into space when she first called his name, stopping right beside him. He took no notice of her and she thought that he was ignoring her, until she noticed he wasn't blinking. That just creeped her out so she kept on calling his name.

_Arthur _

Still no response, but there was a flicker behind his eyes.

_Arthur Arthur Arthur_

"Arthur!" she had said his name a little too loudly making the receptionist poke her head around the corner, staring straight at Ariadne, glaring stiffly as if to reprimand her, like it was a library. Girl, please.

But Arthur didn't notice the blond girl, only launched himself at Ariadne with such vigour that she was afraid she would topple over. But he jumped away before she could respond, looked at her then down to the floor, his hands running madly through his hair. This was new to her, this odd Arthur behaviour.

"Sorry .. " he mumbled, still looking down at his shoes, hands now rubbing the back of his neck.

Sorry ... he was sorry? She didn't care if he was embarrassed, or if he acted out of character. Sorry shouldn't have been said.

"Oh please" she chuckled, rolling her eyes slightly at his boyish blush that slowly crept over his cheeks. She took a step forward, closed the gap between them. She was smiling up at him and he slowly relaxed, let his hands fall to his sides and a small smile find its way to his mouth. He rested his forehead on top of her soft brown hair, closed his eyes and felt better. He wasn't alone; even if they were stood in front of the elevators he couldn't care less. He felt her hands on his chest, giving him a light push.

"I don't think you should fall asleep here ... "her tone was lazy and soft and sweet and made him feel like he could just stay there forever, cocooned in her warmth.

"Mmmm, five more minutes" he joked. She chuckled and curled her fingers around his shirt, pulling him closer to her.

"Very well" was all she said before he wrapped her up in his arms so that she was pressed flushed against him.

Somehow it had all worked out in the end ...


End file.
